In many ways, the development
of video
technology has paralleled
man’s exploration
of space over the
past five decades, from
specialized cameras
documenting such history-
making events as
John Glenn’s spacewalk,
to Neil Armstrong’s
walk on the moon and most recently, Felix
Baumgartner’s astounding 24-mile space
jump in October. Developing technology
for miniaturized cameras and lenses
that can withstand the rigors of space has
helped lead to improved capabilities for
covering more earthbound activities such
as sports and exploration.

Baumgartner’s jump, though, also represented
a breakthrough for online video
entertainment as the event marked the
largest audience for an online televised (to
use today’s phraseology) event in history,
as 8 million viewers logged into YouTube
worldwide, for a total of 52 million concurrent
streams. The event was also televised
live on the cable news networks as well as
the Discovery Channel.

The fact that YouTube garnered such a
large audience isn’t all that surprising when
you consider how the market for streaming
(and “over-the-top”) video has gained
more acceptance. Portable devices including
tablets and smartphones are the driving
forces behind this new media explosion,
with OTT boxes including Xbox360,
Roku and Apple TV (the real one, not the
much hyped one that remains a figment of
too many analysts’ imaginations), also becoming
increasingly ubiquitous.

A recent poll from Harris Interactive
confirmed these facts, noting that of the
more than 2,300 adults surveyed two
months ago, 52 percent indicated that
they had watched digitally streamed TV
programming on one of several devices,
including the aforementioned smartphone,
tablet, PC or streaming box.

Not too surprisingly, the largest proponents
of streaming are in the 18–35 age
group. “Streaming is well on its way to becoming
a dominant means of viewership
among 18–35 year olds, (nearly tying topranked
live feed TV) as it airs or among the
ways they most often watch TV programming
(44 percent live feed TV, 41 percent
streaming),” Harris said.

The market for streaming video is not
without its pitfalls however. Netflix hasn’t
exactly set the media world on fire with its
recent efforts at original programming; and
Google recently cancelled up to 70 percent
of YouTubes’ “TV channels,” a year after the
$100 million initiative for original programming
was launched. And lest we think that
traditional TV is on the way out, the vast
majority (89 percent) of respondents to the
Harris poll indicated that they watch TV programs
on the TV sets, sans streaming.

YouTube garnered its largest audience in history when Felix Baumgartner took his famous leap from space.

What will prime the pump even more
for video streaming? Respondents to the
Harris survey indicated that improved
streaming options, including access to
faster connections, ease of access, (including
not having to watch on a PC screen),
and access to programming they currently
cannot get via streaming are the biggest
factors in increasing their streaming views.

That last item confirms that “content is
(still) king.” Survey after survey has indicated
that more consumers would cut the
cable or satellite cord if they had access
to live programming, especially sports and
news either via the cable news networks
or their local TV station.

With national and regional sports rights
fees expected to exceed $100 billion over
the next dozen years, cable subscribers (including
industry pioneer John Malone) are
growing increasingly agitated over the effects
such fees are having on their cable bill
and the pressure to find a solution will only
increase over time. Anthony Wood, the CEO
of Roku, recently predicted that the company
will offer cable or satellite subscriptions
via their streaming box within the next 12
months. And Adobe’s recent announcement
of its “Project Primetime” platform that could
allow the insertion of local advertising into
broadcast streams helps remove some of the
technical barriers to bringing broadcast to
the streaming box.

The pace of acceptance for streaming is
accelerating and its expected dominance
is not a matter of if, but when.

Print

Email

Share

Comments

Post New CommentIf you are already a member, or would like to receive email alerts as new comments are
made, please login or register.

Enter the code shown above:

(Note: If you cannot read the numbers in the above
image, reload the page to generate a new one.)